Flap trimmer



June 19, 1934. N. w. MATHEY FLAP TRIMMER Filed Nov. 30, 1931 3Sheets-Sheet l June 19 1934 N. w. MATHEY 1,963,331

FLAP TRIMMER Filed Nov. 30, 1931 l 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 19, 1934. N w,MA1-HEY 1,963,331

FLAP TRIMMER Filed Nov. 30, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 5k /0'\ /Z fL. if, ,T lIllll' 1 0 F!) Q y es Patented June 19, 1934 .UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE A FLAP TRTMMER y Nicholas W. Mathey, Boston, Mass. ApplicationNovember 30, 1931, Serial No. 577,981

'7 Claims.

This invention pertains to shoe manufacture and relates moreparticularly to a novel method of and machine for use in skiving theedges of the breast covering flap of a Louis or similar heel preparatoryto cementing or otherwise securing the flap in position. In order toprovide a finely Vfinished appearance at'the lateral edges of the heelbreast, it is customary in the preparation of the better grades of shoesto reduce the thickness of the breast flap along its edges beforesecuring itin place. This operation has heretofore been performedlaboriously and slowly by hand,V or by the use of crude mechanismcapable ofskiving one edge only of the flap' at one time, and'then in avery ineiiicient and uncertain manner, and by reason of the care andskill required, this operation is tooY expensive for use except in shoeswhich sell at a high price. In certain types of shoes the material whichcovers the outer or lateral 'curved surface of the heel is lapped overagainst the breast surface, leaving the central part of the breastsurface uncovered, and in order that the breast flap may have a smoothsurface when cemented in place, it is' very"des'irable to coni-ine theskiving or thinning operation to that part of the ap which will overliethe lateral edges of the breast surface, leaving'the central part of theflap of normal thickness. This is further desirable since the flap isthus less liable to lcontract and draw away from the edges of the breastsurface than were the ap to be made very thin throughout its entireextent.

In accordance with the present invention I provide a simple mechanismeasily operable by persons but little skilled in machine operations, andwhich is designed to skive both edges of the flap at the same time,while leaving the central parts of itsy original thickness. This may beaccomi plished by' advancing the flap endwise across a cutting edge,preferably by feeding or positively advancing only the edge portions ofthe flap, leaving the intermediate or central portion free of thefeeding or advancing means, while main- Y .taining these edges in suchspaced relationship as ter,- the presser-foot being shaped andpositioned to press only the lateral edges of a breast4 flap,

for example,v firmly against the feed roll in the aforementioned spacedrelationship, this presserfoot having an arcuate or otherwise curvedintermediate portion for receiving and confining the central portion ofthe flap. Preferably the cutter and the presser-foot are maintained in asubstantially fixed relationship while the feed rollis yieldably held ina predetermined position to be movable away from the cutter underrelatively slight and abnormal increase in pressure such as mightbecaused by variations in material, so as to enable the feed roll tocome into firm engage-jment with the material. This 'relatively`fixedarrangement of the cutter and the presser-foot avoids uneven orirregular cutsfof variable eX- tent and this, together with the guidingfeature of the presser-foot makes Vit possiblel to skive both edges of a'ap' simultaneously and yet to obtain uniform and accurately skivededges which will nt neatly along the edges of the breast surface of aheel. Preferably the machine also includes'fprovisio-n for adjustmentwhereby the width of the skived area may be varied at will.

In the drawings: y i

Fig. l isa side elevation of a skiving machine illustrating the'. mannerinwhich the breast flap of a sole may be skived on this machine; y

Fig. 2 isv an end elevation of the machine shown inFig.1; y. l f

Fig. 3y is a section along the lines 3 3 of Fig. 2 with parts omittedand broken away and illustrating the position of the sole of la shoewhile the breast ap thereof is being skived; I

Fig. 4 is a detailed Vertical section taken 1ongitudinally through thefeed roll and the presserfoot of the machine shown in the precedingviews;

Fig. 5Yis a combined edge and bottom planview of an unattached solehaving the breast flap thereof turned' down to illustrate the manner inwhich the edges thereof have been 'skived bythe machine; v

Fig. 6 is a transverse section through the breast flap taken along 'theline 6--6l of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a shoev in invertedposition showing the breast flap in place on the heel; and i i Fig. 8isa section along the line 8-8 of Fig. '7.

In the apparatus selected for` illustration herein and by way' ofexample, a feed roll 1,0 (Figa) is' disposed closely adjacent thetraveling cutting edg'ell of a cylindrical cutter,- 12, andalpress'erfoot 13' extends' longitudinally''ofl the feed roll and alongthe cutting' edge. These parts are supported in operative relation in aframe-compris.- ing a box-like lower' housing' having side walls 14 and16 and a top or table portion 17 (Fig. 3). Near the rear side of themachine a post 18 is mounted on the table and is provided with ahorizontal arm having at its forward end a head 19.Y A plunger rod 21 ismounted for vertical movement in this head and normally is urgeddownwardly under the action of a relatively strong spring 22, the latterbeing disposed within a recess or bore in the upper end of the rod andbeing Y held under compression by a thumb screw 23 which is threadedthrough the upper side of the head and engages a movable seat 24 for theupper end of this spring. Downward movement of the plunger rod 21 islimited by abutment means comprising a stud 26 which is rigid with theupper end of the plunger and extends freely through an opening in theupper side of the head. A thumb nut 27 is threaded on the upper end ofthis stud and is adapted to engage the upper side of the head to limitdownward movement of the plunger rod.

The presser-foot 13 comprises an arcuate portion which overlies the feedroll and a connecting arm 29 which is mounted to pivot at 31 on thelower end of the plunger rod. Another arm 32 is rigidly connected to thearm 29 as by being integral therewith, as shown, and extends upwardly toengage an adjustable abutment provided in the present instance by anadjusting screw 33 which extends transversely through thebody of theplunger rod and has threaded engagement therewith, a lock nut 34 isprovided for securing vthe screw in any desired position of adjustment.

The arm32 is urged yieldably against the outer end ofthe adjusting screw33'by a leaf spring 36 which may bemounted upon the head 19 or in anyother convenient position.

A roller 37 is mounted upon the lower portion of the plunger rod andisreceivable in a notch or complementary recess formed in the forward Aendof a lever 38, the latter preferably being mounted to pivot intermediateits ends on a fulcrum pin 39 carried by a bracket 41 mounted upon thetable portion 17. This lever extends to the rear side of the machinewhere it may be operated manually to raise the plunger rod `21 or it mayhave a connection 42Vfor operation'by a treadle (not shown). The Vunderside of the presser-foot is generally concave and follows a curvesomewhat similar to thelongitudinal curvature of the feed roll, butpreferably of greater curvature than the latter, the central portion ofthe vunder side of this presser-foot being recessed or cutaway toprovide an offset portion 43 and spaced end portions 44 and 46.

` The feed roll 10is rotatably supported upon a shaft 47 (Fig. 1)carried by a horizontal arm48. This arm is carried by a tiltable framecomprising an elongate member 49 (Fig. 2) which extends transversely ofthe machine and is supported at its ends on pivot bearings 51 and 52,.the latter being carried by the side walls 14 and 16 respectively. Inorder to provide for tilting the feed roll longitudinally, the arm 48(Fig. 1) is rotatably supported in a bearing 53 carried by the member49. The arm 48 extends outwardly beyond this bearing and is ixedlyconlnected to an arm 54 which curves downwardly (Fig. 2) and carries atits lower end an adjusting screw 56. The frame member 49 has a rigiddepending arm 57 providing a seat 58 against which the adjusting screwis adapted to engage.

'A coil spring 59 extendsbetween the arms 54 and 57 and is held underthe desired tension by an adjusting screw 61 mounted in suitable bosses62 and 63 provided in the arms 57 and 54 respectively, a head 64 onscrew 61 being provided for adjusting the tension of the spring 59.

At some convenient point, as at the left-hand end (Fig. 2) of the member49, a rigid arm 66 extends downwardly and is pivotally connected at itslower end to an eye bolt 67 (Fig. 1). The latter extends freely througha lug 68 formed on the frame and is fitted at its outer end with a thumbnut 69. yA relatively weak coil spring 7l is connected to the pivot pin72 which forms the connection between the eye bolt and the arm 66 and toa fixed abutment means 73. It will be seen that as the frame member 49is tilted about the pivots 51 and 52, the feed roll may be moved in aclockwise or counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1. Therelatively weak spring 71 tends normally to swing this roll in aoounterclockwise direction, but this tendency is opposed by engagementof the thumb nut 69 with the lug 68, these parts constituting anabutment means for positively and definitely limiting upward movement ofthe feed roll, while the yieldable connection p-rovided by the springmakes it possible for this roll to move downwardly or in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in Fig. 1, under the influence of relatively slightincrease in pressure, such as that due to variations in thickness ofmaterial, and assures a rm engagement of the feed roll with the work atall times.

It will also be understood that by adjusting the thumb screw 56 and thelocknut 55 the feed roll may be tilted longitudinally, as viewed in Fig.2. The feed roll is provided with a universal connection 76 adapted tobe driven by any suitable source of power (not shown) The cutter ismounted upon a shaft 77 which is rotatably supported in bearings (notshown). mounted within the housing. This shaft extends beyond the rearside of the machine and carries a pulley 78 which may be driven in anyapproved manner.

In the manufacture of shoesv of the Yclass described it is customary to`provide the outer sole 80 (Fig. 5) with a flap 81 lof a size to coverthe breast surface of a heel; usually the nap is formed by slitting orcutting under the grain surface of the sole to separate the thin layerfrom the rear end of the sole to a point beyond the heel seat. The soleand the shoe upper are then attached together and the flap is turnedback as illustrated in Fig. 5 to permit a heel to be attached to theheel seat. This having been done, the flap is fitted over the breastsurface of the heel as illustrated in Fig. 7, a last V82 being in theshoe at this stage of the procedure.v As the breast surface isordinarily concave, it is highly desirable to thin down the edgeportions of the flap so that the inner surface thereof may besubstantially complementary to the heel breast and fit smoothlythereover. Moreover, in certain grades of shoes, the outer surface ofthe heel is covered with relatively thin finishing material 83 (Fig. 8)which is commonly folded or secured around the vertical edges of thebreast surface as indicated at 84 and 86. These inturnedredges of thefinishing material leave an abrupt depression across the central portionof the heel breast and add considerably to the difficulty of providing aneat, snugly fitting and good appearing covering for this surface.Heretofore, in the more expensive shoes, the edges of the flap have beenskived down by hand to leave a relatively thick central portion withthinner marginal Yportions to provide the desired complementaryrelationship requisite for a well fitting iiap. Obviously this operationrequires considerable skill and as it is performed by hand it addsmaterially to the cost of a shoe. Moreover, the workmanship dependslargely upon the ability or skill of the individual workman.

The machine of the present invention provides for performing theseoperations substantially automatically in a manner which requires verylittle skill on the part of the workman. In using this machine the feedroll and presser-foot are adjusted to receive a flap of the particularthickness and dimensions employed. From Fig. 4 vit will be seen that thefeed roll has-substantially the same curvature longitudinally as thecutter while the under side of the presser-foot has a curvature of lessradius so that the end portions 44 and 46 of this member may beadjustedto protrude across the cutting edge and yet leave an opening between thecutter and the intermediate section of the presser-foot through whichthe central portion of a flap may pass without engaging the cuttingedge. The presser-foot is set at the proper position relative to thecutter to press the marginal portions of a flap across the cutting edgejust far enough to assure skiving of the precise area which it isdesired to remove, this of course being determined partly by the shapeof the particular presser-foot selected for use. The adjusting screw 33is set positively to limit upward movement of the presser-foot about itspivot 31 and the thumb net 27 is turned down on the stud 26 until itcomes solidly into engagement with the upper surface of the head 19.These adjustments having been further downward movement of the rod 2l.and upward pivotal movement of the presser-foot are positivelyprecluded.

The screw 28 is also adjusted to place the relatively strong rigidspring 22 under suflicient tension so that normally this springfunctions as a substantially rigid member or connection, and

is adapted to yield only under relatively heavy pressure such as wouldinevitably result in damage to the apparatus by breakage or rupture ofparts. This arrangement therefore affords the advantages of a rigidsupporting structure making it possible definitely to predetermine theposition of the presser-foot and thus to assure accurate skiving whileprecluding the possibility of damage as by jamming of some of the partsor of material. Y

The axis of the feed roll may be tilted longitudinally (by setting theadjusting screws 56 and 64 as will be understood) to bring the curvedfeeding surface of this roll into alignment with the cutting edge. Oncethis adjustment has been made, it is not altered by bodily movement ofthe feed roll due to tilting or rocking of its supporting frame aboutthe pivot bearings 51 and 52. The correct minimum spacing of the feedroll from the cutting edge is secured by adjusting the thumb nut 69 topermit the relatively weak spring to swing the supporting frame to thedesired position, further movement of course being prevented byengagement of the nut 69 with the frame lug 68. Preferably thisadjustment is so made that the feed roll engages the work with ayielding pressure under the action of the weak spring which also permitsthe feed roll to retract downwardly or away from the cutting edge underslight increases in pressure such as may be caused by variations inthickness of the work.

This construction and relative arrangement of 4 parts provides forfeeding the rough or unnished side of a heel flap and for forcing thegrain surface thereof firmly against the smooth under surface of thepresser-foot. Vfis the latter yremains rigid and immovable during normaloperation it will be seen that it provides for definitely gauging thethickness and surface contour of the nap.

After the various adjustments havebeen made, the shoe is placed in anupright position above the table (Fig. 1) with the flap 81 turnedforward so that the grain surface of the leather faces the presser-foot.The presser-foot is then lifted by actuation of lever 38, preferably bymeans of `a foot treadle and the free end of the flap is then insertedbetween the feed roll and the presserfoot whereupon the presser-foot isallowed to drop. The machine being in operation at this time, the flapis advanced by the feed roll and pressed or crowded against thepresser-foot, the action being such that the oppositely inclined outeredges ofthe feed roll press the marginal portions of the nap firmlyagainst the end portions 44 and 46 of the presser-foot atan inclinationwhich crowds the central portion of the flap upwardly,` causing thiscentral portion 4-to flex'or bulge outwardly and substantially fill therecess or offset portion 43 which confines the central portion of theflap to a well defined contour and assures accurate skiving of the edgesover an area predetermined by the shape of the presserfoot. rlhe centralportiony of the ap is thus caused to draw awayfrom the upper side ofthecutting edge so that only the edgeportions Aprotrude across this cuttingedge and are skived by the latter as indicated at 88 and 89 (Figs. 5 and6) The presser-foot illustrated in the draw-ings is shaped to skive theedges to fit over the inturned marginal portions 84 and 86 of the heelcovering 83 as illustrated in Fig. 8, but it will be understood that fordifferent types of heels, as forexample, those which have no coveringmaterial or which have covering material turned in rto a greater or lessextent, the proper surface contour may be provided by substituting apresser-foot having the desired shape. As the skiving operationproceeds, the material slrived from the edges'passes within the cutteras indicated at 87 in Fig. l and'when this operation is completed thelever 38 is depressed either manually or by means of a treadle to liftthe presser-foot and thereby release the fiap from the action of thefeed roll. The shoe is then removed, the heel attached and the iiapsecured in place as in the previous procedure. The portions of themarginal edges which project beyond the vertical edges of the breastsurface may be trimmed down in any approved manner.

The adjustable andryieldable mounting for the feed roll and thesubstantially fixed relationship between the presser-foot and the cutterare also highly desirable features as they make it possible topredetermine and to gauge accurately the area to be skived, but it willbe apparent that many of the advantages of the present invention may b egained from apparatus of this character having a yieldably mountedpresser-foot which may cooperate with a fixedly or yieldably supportedfeed roll. I

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A skiving machine for simultaneously skiving the lateral margins of aheel covering flap forming an integral part of a shoe sole, said maicoifo

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chine comprising a cutter having a traveling cutting edge operablethrough a predetermined and substantially invariable path, asubstantially rigid non-yieldable traveling surface for feeding the flapto said cutting edge, yieldable means for supporting said travelingsurface for relative movement toward and Vfrom said cutting edge toaccommodate iiaps of different thickness, the path of travel of saidtraveling surface being approximately normal to said cutting edge and onone side thereof, presser means for holding the edge portions of thefiap in engagement with said traveling surface and for causing thecentral portion of said flap to be deflected to the other side of saidcutting edge, means for maintaining the pressed means substantiallyrigid and rmly in a predetermined position during normal operation butproviding for relative separating movement of said latter means and thecutter in response to excessive and abnormal pressure, whereby damage tothe machine may be avoided, and means for separating the pressure meansfrom the cutter at the end of the skiving operation.

2. Apparatus for simultaneously skiving the opposite lateral margins ofa heel covering iiap forming an integral part of a shoe sole, saidapparatus comprising a cutter, a presser-foot and a feed roll adjacentthe cutter and spaced for feeding the flap to the cutter with oppositelateral margins of the strip protruding across the cutter to be skivedthereby, movable supports for the presser-foot and the feed roll,abutment means for limiting movement of these supports in a direction tobring the presser-foot and the feed roll toward each other, a relativelystrong spring for holding the presser-foot supporting means solidlyagainst the abutment means during normal operation, this spring beingyieldable to permit the presser-foot to retract under eX- cessivepressure, a relatively weak spring for holding the feed roll supportingmeans against the abutment means, this spring being adapted to yield topermit the feed roll toY retract in response to relatively slightvariations in pressure due to variations in thickness of material, andmeans for raising the presser-foot at the completion of the skivingoperation whereby to permit the flap to be withdrawn by movementopposite to the feeding movement.

3. That method of skiving a heel breast covering flap at the rear partof the sole of a lasted shoe so as to provide the flap with thin lateraledges while leaving the intermediate portion of the iiap unskived, whichcomprises imparting a feed movement to the sole during the skivingoperation such as to advance the flap with its free edge forwardrelatively to rotary cutting means adapted simultaneously to skive theopposite lateral margin of the flap as the latter is advanced whilekeeping said margins confined between substantially rigid elements,keeping the intermediate portion of the iiap which is to be skived outof the field of action of the cutting means, and at the completion oftheskivi'ng operation releasing said lateral margins from confinement andretracting the flap from the iield of action of the cutting means bymovement of the sole in the opposite direction. Y

4. That method of skiving the lateral edges of the heel breast coveringflap of a sole on a lasted shoe while leaving an intermediate areaunskived, which comprises doubling the flap back into substantiallyparallel relation to the bottom of the shoe, advancing the material ofthe flap relatively to the edge of a cylindrical cutter while confiningthe lateral edge portions of the flap between substantially rigid curvedsurfaces disposed within and without the cutting edge, respectively, butwhile leaving the intermediate area substantially unconiined, and bymeans of said curved surfaces applying forces to the material inopposite directions fromthe areas to be skived toward the intermediatearea, whereby to cause the latter to bulge out of the field of action ofthe'cutter while the edge portions are being skived, and when theskiving operation has been completed, separating the rigidly curvedsurfaces and retracting the fiap rom between them.

5. That method of skiving the heel breast covering iiap of the sole of alasted shoe, which cornprises doubling the flap back into substantiallyparallel relation to thek shoe bottom, imparting aV feed movement to theshoe so as to advance `the flap endwise during the skiving operationrelatively to skiving means, holding the opposite marginal portions ofthe flap in operative relation to the skiving means during said feedmovement while keeping the central portion of the ap 110 out of the eldof action of the skiving means, and thereafter withdrawing the skivedflap from the eld of action of the skiving means by movement of the shoein a direction opposite to said feed movement. 115

6. That method of siriving the heel covering fiap of a lasted shoehaving an attached sole provided with a fiap at its rear part, whichcomprises feeding, forward the flap with its rear end in advancerelatively to the edge of a cutting instrumentality, confining thelateral marginal portions of the flap while so feeding the iiap forwardwhereby accurately to position said marginal portions during the cuttingoperation, and.v causing the intermediate portion of the flap to 125bulge out of the path of the cutting edge of said instrumentality duringthe skiving operation.

7. That method of preparing the heel breast covering flap of a lastedshoe having an attached sole furnished with such a flap at its rearpart, which comprises moving the ap endwise and concomitantly with suchmovement presenting both lateral edges of the ap to rotary skiving meanswhereby simultaneously to skive said lateral edge portions, and while soskiving said lateral edge portions keeping the intermediate portion ofthe iiap out of the field of action of such skiving means.

NICHOLAS w. MATHEY.

